Maintenance Under Section 125 Of Cr.P.C Vis A Vis Rights Of Divorced Muslim Women

Abstract

It is rightly said that if one needs to know the development of society of a particular place at a particular time, he should observe the equality status of women in that society. Rights and liberties given to women and how much of them she is able to enjoy are some of the major factors that tell us about the moral development of people in a society. It is necessary for an ideal society to protect a woman and to give her the rights she deserves. One of the major constituents to study about women’s status is to study the customs which provide her rights, be it personal rights or proprietary rights. Personal laws play a major role in providing different rights to men and women.  But unfortunately, Muslim law does not suffice in protecting women in every condition. It gives the right to maintenance to all the divorced women and not those who are separated in any other way. If a woman suffers cruelty and she is not divorced or her divorce is not valid, she cannot claim maintenance .However, section 125 Code of Criminal Procedure acts as the saviour and provides maintenance rights to women in need whether divorced or not .When all the ceremonies are done in consonance with personal laws but if at the time of need a woman has to seek remedy from s. 125 CrPC then it goes without saying that women need stronger support from her personal laws. Being a progressive society, still women are not a well liberated part of society and in cases of family matters only a few women manage to escape from the judgmental claws of the society to file suit against her in-laws. In today’s time men and women should be kept on equal pedestal. They should have equal rights and also the liberty to claim those rights. It is high time for us now to recognize the significance of the role of women in our society and give her the right she deserves.